Warren County Board of Developmental Disabilities

Warren County
JUNE
2015
U P C OM I N G
S P E C I AL
EVENTS:
June 20:
Run For Dreams
5K / 10K, 9:00 a.m.
Warren County
Armco Park,
1223 N. State
Route 741,
Lebanon, OH
July 20—25:
Come see us at
the Warren
County Fair in the
Business Expo
Hall, 665 N.
Broadway,
Lebanon, OH.
August 29:
WCBDD Car
Show, 10:00 a.m.
at the Warren C.
Young Center, 801
Drake Road,
Lebanon, OH
Dreams
A Word from our Superintendent
Ohio is one of 26 states in the nation
that has an official Employment First
policy or legislation. Ohio’s
Employment First Executive Order
focuses on the goal that competitive
employment in an integrated setting be
the priority outcome for people with
disabilities. A policy sets the direction,
but successful implementation of
Employment First requires a multipronged approach to achieve
community employment for people
with disabilities.
Historically, people with developmental
disabilities have experienced
unemployment, underemployment, and
poverty rates that far exceed their
peers without disabilities. In addition,
people with disabilities are less likely to
find steady or satisfying employment.
Meaningful work has significant benefits
for all adults, including people with
developmental disabilities. At the
Warren County Board of
Developmental Disabilities, we are
helping the people to whom we
provide services make informed
decisions about where they work. We
continue to seek out opportunities for
them to obtain
community jobs that
result in greater
earnings, better
benefits, improved
health and an
enhanced quality of
life.
Some of the key
steps we are taking
to help people
Megan K. Manuel,
who have
Superintendent
developmental
disabilities obtain community employment
include:
 Focusing on person-centered planning to
discover an individual’s interests and talents
to identify vocational goals.
 Improving the preparation of youth and
adults to include employability skill
development, and
 Engaging with businesses, and strengthening
awareness of community members about
the capabilities of workers with disabilities.
In this newsletter you will find stories about
some of the people to whom we provide
services who are exploring community
employment options, or are finding success in
obtaining jobs. It is such a
pleasure to help people
who have developmental
disabilities discover their
full potential in such a
meaningful way.
Carla Cox was featured in
our billboard awareness
campaign in March, 2015.
DREAMS,
PAGE
2
Rachel Rice is a member of Self Advocacy Group, Voices Speaking Out
Voices Speaking Out is the Self Advocacy Group sponsored by the Warren
County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
The group is comprised
of adults receiving services from the WCBDD.
Members meet to advocate for independence. They are provided guidance, leadership
and training opportunities to help them reach
their goals of independence, and advocating
Rachel Rice was the
for themselves.
featured speaker at our
Open House in March.
We interviewed Rachel
Rice, who has belonged
to Voices Speaking Out for about a year, and she shared
the following with us:
What does self advocacy mean to you?
It means a lot to me. It has helped me see “who I am.”
It has helped me find my voice.
Why is it important?
Because I have been able to help others with disabilities, and I have been able to help myself. It is important to be an advocacy member so we can learn to
advocate for ourselves because life is very different for
us (with disabilities). This has been a great experience
for me, and I have learned a lot.
What is your personal involvement in selfadvocacy?
Over the course of being involved in the advocacy group, it has really helped me see who I am
and what I am capable of doing by myself. Since
I have been in the group, I have been able to
speak up to my team, my family, and others,
about things that I like or want to do. It has
helped me speak up for things that I want for
the rest of my life such as move out on my own,
work in the community, and try new things.
How did you become a self advocate?
From talking to some of my friends about the
group, and that I should join the group.
What are some of the barriers that you’ve had
to deal with throughout the past year?
I’ve had a lot of barriers to overcome such as …
transportation, certain community jobs, and
getting my family on board that “I can do this.”
I overcame the transportation barrier by talking
to my parents when I didn’t like being on a particular bus. After several weeks, I was finally
able to convince them that I would like to try
another service provider, and now I really like it.
I overcame certain community job barriers by
speaking up about accommodations and trying
to get them to work with me to help me find
success. I overcame getting my family on board
by getting them to realize the I could do it, and
having faith in myself.
Sam’s Club provided Job Shadowing opportunities to WCBDD in May
Jami Patrick (left) learned
from Sam’s Club employee
Raven Frazier how to work in
the bakery.
Sam’s Club employee Diana
Dulle (left), worked with
Amanda Bragg to greet
shoppers at the entrance and
check member I.D.s
Steven Muck (left) worked
with Sam’s Club employee
Nicki Kirby to pick up empty
boxes from the aisles and
deliver to check-out.
DREAMS,
PAGE
2
Young man overcomes obstacles to become more independent
Chris Thorpe, age 22, is happy to tell his story of success
and triumph, and how he overcame a rough upbringing
to look forward to his future.
“I went through a really bad time as a teenager,” he
says. “I made some really bad choices and ended up
having to go to a group home to spend some time.”
When Chris was in 9th grade, he got into legal troubles
and was sent to Mid-Western Children’s Home, which is
licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services as a group home to serve the needs of children in
crisis. Residential Centers and Group Homes are facilities where children reside for short or longer periods of
time to receive care and supervision 24-hours per day
for two or more consecutive weeks. Most children in
these settings have emotional or behavioral challenges,
are medically fragile and/or require special medical
treatments due to physical conditions, or have developmental disabilities.
Chris was diagnosed with developmental disabilities and
cognitive learning disorders. “I didn’t like it at MidWestern, and I didn’t do very well there. I was then sent
to a home in Columbus, then one in Toledo, and then I
ended up in one here in Lebanon.” By then, Chris was
an adult and enrolled in services of the Warren County
Board of Developmental Disabilities (WCBDD).
“I had some really rough roommates throughout those
years. I saw some of the bad stuff they were doing and
it scared me. I didn’t want to end up like any of them.”
Chris began to make changes in his life.
“I was really into computers. I wanted to spend more
time on the computer, so I had to follow lots of rules
and guidelines.”
works five days a week.
He uses power tools to
drill holes and put pop
rivets in vacuum wands.
In addition, he has another duty there, and his
eyes light up when he
explains, “I fill bottles
with chemicals that
could burn your hand
Thorpe poses with his
off. It’s a lot of responsi- Chris
Katrina Reese, WCBDD.
bility. Only two people
there know how to work the machine that does that.”
As a result of his progress at Easter Seals, Chris was recently referred to the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation
(BVR) who arranged job trials for him at Fricker’s and SaveA-Lot. The BVR is a state program housed within Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities to help people with developmental disabilities attain and maintain employment.
Job trials are work experiences for individuals to try out
various jobs in part time roles for three-day periods. “I
really liked working at Fricker’s,” said Chris.
A long-range future goal that Chris has is to go to college
and earn a degree in computers. “I want to help the government catch terrorists, kidnappers and hackers. I could
work for the FBI and help them track the IP addresses of
bad guys.”
Reese said, “Chris has progressed from having one of the
most restrictive behavior plans that we write, to now having a significant amount of alone time. It’s been so exciting for all of us to see him achieve his goals, and we’re
all extremely proud of him. The best part is seeing how
happy he is. He definitely has a bright future.”
Katrina Reese, staffmember at WCBDD set goals for him
to reach. “We saw his potential and helped him craft a
plan of success.”
Chris agreed to be interviewed for this article because he
felt his story could help others. “If I can help someone
else, I want to save them from going through what I did,”
he said.
Chris got a job at Easter Seals where he flourished. In
2013 the WCBDD assisted him to move into a home
owned by the Community Housing Assistance Program,
where he has one roommate and staff assistance.
When asked how he’s been able to make so many good
changes in his life, Chris responds, “It’s thanks to my team
and to my staff.” Reese asks, “And who else, Chris?”
He now has a job he loves at Kaivac Vacuum where he
Chris gets a little choked up, wipes a tear from his eye, and
says proudly, “Me.”
Presort Standard
U.S. Postage Paid
Lebanon, Ohio
Permit Number 90
107 OREGONIA ROAD
LEBANON, OH 45036
Phone: (513) 228-6400
Fax: (513) 932-1927
Our mission is to support people
with disabilities and their families to
achieve what is important to them.
This newsletter was collated, folded and labeled by the enrolled individuals employed by Production Services Unlimited, Inc.
(PSU). PSU is a non-profit business that provides work training and paid work experiences to adults enrolled in WCBDD
programs.
www.warrencountydd.org
Warren County Court of Common Pleas employs
people with developmental disabilities
2015 Summer Youth Employment Program
Would you be interested in employing youth ages
16 to 24? Ohio Means Jobs Warren County runs a
summer employment program for eligible youth to
connect to the workforce, while developing work
skills. These skills will assist youth in understanding
the value of work, and the ability to apply these
skills as working adults in the future.
The program runs until October 31, 2015, and the
youth work at no cost to you. Youth can work up
to 40 hours a week. Pre-employment paperwork,
pre-screening and interviewing is completed by
Warren County Department of Job and Family
Services. Wages, workman’s comp, and payroll
provided by Warren County Educational Service
Center.
Warren County Probate/Juvenile Division Judge Joseph
Kirby (left) poses with Megan Mahoney and Tony
Brigano, Court Administrator (right). Megan, who
receives services from WCBDD, works part time as a file
clerk, pulling the next day’s docket, filing old files,
scanning and routing documents, and delivers intra-office
mail to others in the Probate/Juvenile Division.
If you are interested in becoming a worksite for the
2015 Summer Youth Employment Program, please
contact Matt Fetty, Ohio Means Jobs of Warren
County at 300 East Silver Street, Lebanon, Ohio
45036. Telephone (513) 695-3032 or e-mail
fettmb@ohioworkforce.com.
We have new telephone numbers—here is how to reach us:
Administration: (513) 228-6400
Milo H. Banta Center: (513) 228-6401
Warren C. Young Center: (513) 228-6402
Production Services Unlimited, Inc.: (513) 228-6403